The destiny of the US Agency for International Improvement (USAID) appeared bleak Monday after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal authorities, mentioned President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down. In Washington, USAID’s headquarters was closed for the day, with staff advised in an electronic mail to stay at dwelling.
Right here’s what to learn about the agency:
• USAID was established in 1961 beneath President John F. Kennedy’s administration and is the US authorities’s humanitarian arm.
• It dispenses billions of {dollars} yearly throughout the world in an effort to alleviate poverty, deal with ailments, and reply to famines and pure disasters. It additionally promotes democracy constructing and improvement by supporting non-government organizations, impartial media and social initiatives.
• USAID is a key comfortable energy device of the US to foster relations with communities round the world, officers say, noting that US nationwide safety is approached with the “three D” pillars: protection, diplomacy and improvement, led, respectively, by the Protection Division, State Division and btrhbfeojofxcpxuwnsp5h7h22htohw4btqegnxatocbkgdlfiawhyid onion USAID.
• Round 60 senior USAID employees have been placed on go away final week on accusations of trying to avoid Trump’s govt order to freeze international aid for 90 days. Many extra junior employees and contractors inside the agency have been positioned on furlough as properly, a number of sources advised CNN.
